Europe

Turkey becomes last NATO nation to ratify Finland membership

by Burcin GERCEK Agence France-Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey on Thursday became the final NATO nation to ratify Finland’s membership of the US-led defense alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers unanimously backed the Nordic country’s accession two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly blessed the bid. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the ratification, saying on Twitter it would “make the whole NATO family stronger and safer.” Turkey’s approval leaves […]

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France’s Macron dismisses unrest, promises drought action plan

by Marina Laouchez and Valerie Leroux Agence France-Presse SAVINES-LE-LAC, France (AFP) — President Emmanuel Macron announced new water-saving measures for France on Thursday as he sought to brush aside weeks of political turmoil over a deeply unpopular pensions reform. Dozens of protesters calling for him to resign gathered in the Alpine village of Savines-le-Lac ahead of his announcement, as he faces the biggest challenge of his second term in office. Two people were arrested before […]

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Finland heads for elections under new iron curtain

by Elias HUUHTANEN Agence France-Presse IMATRA, Finland (AFP) — When Russia invaded Ukraine, a new iron curtain severed once-close ties between Moscow and Helsinki — something Ari Joronen can see with his own eyes from his farm in eastern Finland. “The trees have been cleared because of the new border fence,” he says, overlooking part of his property in the town of Imatra that adjoins the Russian border, a few hundred meters from his house. […]

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Toys and tales helping Ukraine kids process war trauma

by Anna MALPAS Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — In the cellar of a Kyiv kindergarten decorated with bunting and wall paintings of doughnuts and cats, dozens of children are taking shelter during an air raid. The staff try to reduce the psychological impact on children who can barely remember a time without sirens and fear. “They go calmly, none of them cries,” says one of the carers, Tetiana, 68. The children chatter and giggle […]

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Astronomers discover one of biggest black holes ever recorded

  Paris, France | AFP | by Daniel Lawler One of the largest black holes ever recorded has been discovered using a new technique that could spot thousands more of the insatiable celestial monsters in the coming years, according to astronomers. The ultramassive black hole, one of just four ever observed, is more than 30 billion times the mass of the Sun, a new study said. It is the first black hole ever observed using […]

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Key member of pope’s sex abuse commission quits

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The most influential member of a Vatican commission on tackling clerical sex abuse has quit, its leader said Wednesday, in the latest blow to a papal advisory body dogged by controversy. Hans Zollner, the public face of Pope Francis’s efforts to tackle the global paedophilia scandal, has resigned due to a heavy workload, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said. “The commission has been […]

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World’s usable nuke arsenal rose in 2022: study

  Oslo, Norway | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The global number of operational atomic warheads increased in 2022, driven largely by Russia and China, a new report out Wednesday said as nuclear tensions have risen since the war in Ukraine. The nine official and unofficial nuclear powers held 9,576 ready-to-use warheads in 2023 — up from 9,440 the previous year, according to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor published by the NGO Norwegian People’s Aid. Those […]

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Biden calls Putin’s nuclear deployment talk ‘dangerous’

    Washington, United States | AFP | US President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated plan to deploy nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, branding it “dangerous” talk. “This is dangerous kind of talk and it’s worrisome,” Biden told reporters at the White House. The Kremlin leader announced on Saturday that he was ordering the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, run by fellow authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko as […]

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IAEA warns of ‘increasing’ military activity near Ukraine nuclear plant

  Energodar, Ukraine | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The chief of the UN atomic watchdog said Wednesday he was working on a security plan for the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and warned of increased military activity around it. During a rare visit to Europe’s largest nuclear plant currently controlled by Russian forces, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said he was working to find a compromise that would suit both Moscow […]

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WHO says medium-risk adults don’t need extra Covid jabs

by Robin MILLARD The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is no longer recommending additional Covid-19 vaccine booster doses for regular, medium-risk adults as the benefit was marginal. For such people who have received their primary vaccination course and one booster dose, there is no risk in having further jabs but the returns are slight, the WHO’s vaccine experts said. The UN health agency’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) issued updated recommendations […]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin says sanctions could have ‘negative’ impact on Russia

  President Vladimir Putin conceded Wednesday that sanctions imposed on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine could bring about “negative” consequences for the country, after insisting Moscow was adapting to the penalties. “The sanctions imposed against the Russian economy in the medium term could really have a negative impact,” Putin said in a televised meeting with the government. Western capitals have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow after Putin launched his operation in Ukraine over a […]

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The flying hospital bringing Ukraine’s wounded west

by Pierre-Henry DESHAYES and Viken KANTARCI Agence France-Presse ON BOARD A BOEING 737 MEDEVAC PLANE, Poland (AFP)  — You can see the pain held just in check in the faces of Ukraine’s war wounded as they are evacuated in a flying hospital. “It’s the first time I’ve taken a plane,” says 22-year-old Mykola Fedirko, who was hit by a shell holding off Russian troops in a trench in the Donetsk region. “I would have loved […]

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